HOOSIER MAMA
By Farrah Alexander
KIDS REALLY DIG GARDENING
W
HEN MY HUSBAND ASKED ME WHAT I WANTED FOR MOTHER ’ S DAY , I WENT THROUGH THE ROUTINE SUGGESTIONS : “ OH , NOTHING . JUST THE ADORING LOVE AND ADMIRATION OF MY LOVELY FAMILY .” OR “ I DO WANT TO SLEEP IN , THOUGH .” AND , “ MAYBE A NAP , TOO . ACTUALLY , JUST 24 HOURS OF SOLID SLEEP SOUNDS NICE .”
In addition to sleep , my husband asked , “ What about a garden ? The kids and I could build you a garden .” I was elated . I so badly wanted a garden , I had even purchased some weed-block and gardening items that sat unopened in our garage .
Mustering up the energy ( see previous pleading for sleep ) to do the manual labor part of building a garden hasn ’ t been in the cards for me this season yet . All the hauling dirt , tilling and building has been too much . But tending to a garden with my two favorite little people was something I really wanted to do this summer . So , my husband offering to do all the hard things involved in building a garden , and letting me stick to the fun stuff was a perfect gift .
I first became interested in gardening with children years before I had my own . I wrote an article about community and school gardens for a local publication . I was so amazed by how the garden changed the children ’ s perspective on personal responsibility , health and food .
These kids loved getting dirty and taking care of
their gardens . They would pick offending weeds and check on the growth of their plants . The pride they took in the work they put into their gardens was obvious . They were incredibly knowledgeable about the entire seed to plate process , speaking with the experience of master gardeners .
After they nurtured their plants for months and it was time to harvest , they couldn ’ t wait to try their veggies . Most parents go through the daily dinner struggle of trying to convince their kids to try the veggies on their plates while the kids recoil and resist like you just asked them to eat dirt . But a kid who tended to a plant for months and watched the plants sprout colorful , edible veggies ? It ’ s hard to convince them to even wait to wash their veggies before devouring .
Now we can get any fruits and veggies just about any time of year at our local grocery stores . We don ’ t have to wait until early summer for strawberries ; we can buy strawberries in January ! Most of the produce we see in stores aren ’ t locally farmed , and a lot of it actually traveled a long distance before it arrived here . Some of our most popular household staples , like bananas , weren ’ t even grown in this country . Instead , bananas and many other items are grown in the Caribbean , Mexico and elsewhere and shipped here .
It ’ s easy for kids to become disconnected with where food comes from given the complicated nature of how it gets here . Adults don ’ t typically know exactly where their produce comes from , either . But with a garden , kids can eat food they grew in their own backyard . The disconnect is eliminated .
In fact , there are absolutely remarkable benefits for children who garden . There have been a number of studies showing that children who participate in some type of gardening program either at home or at school
• showed a significant increase in selfunderstanding and an ability to work with others
• have positive bonding experiences with their parents and other adults
• are more likely to ear fresh fruits and vegetables
• scored higher on science achievement tests
• showed an understanding of ecology , interconnections in nature , and responsibility to care for the environment
• develop an interest in gardening that is likely
108 EXTOL : JUNE / JULY 2018